Why does the federal government own 65% of all the land West of Denver, and less than 2% of the land East of Denver? Who cares?

Everyone should care. The federal government was not created to be the owner of the land; it was created expressly to get the “right of soil” out of the hands of a king - that is, out of the hands of government.

This is one of those simmering issues -- seldom mentioned, always present -- that may one day make an explosive difference in the future of the U.S. Many parts of the west have long been exploited as if they were a colonial possession of government and its allied eastern (and now, coastal) money-and-power interests. When rebellion boils up, it will probably begin here in these western parts, and with this inequity as a major driver.